as from Edgar, in which the latter expresses
a desire to murder his father. Awaiting his father's approach, Edmund,
as if against his will, shows him this letter, and the father
immediately believes that his son Edgar, whom he tenderly loves, desires
to kill him. The father goes away, Edgar enters and Edmund persuades him
that his father for some reason desires to kill him. Edgar immediately
believes this and flees from his parent.

The relations between Gloucester and his two sons, and the feelings of
these characters are as unnatural as Lear's relation to his daughters,
or even more so, and therefore it is still more difficult for the
spectator to transport himself into the mental condition of Gloucester
and his sons and sympathize with them, than it is to do so into that of
Lear and his daughters.

In the fourth scene, the banished Kent, so disguised that Lear does not
recognize him, presents himself to Lear, who is already staying with
Goneril. Lear asks who he is, to which Kent answers, one doesn't know
why, in a tone quite inappropriate to his position: "A very
honest-hearted fellow and as poor as the King."--"If thou be as poor for
a subject as he is for a King, thou art poor enough--How old art thou?"
asks the King. "Not so young, Sir, to love a woman, _etc._, nor so old
to dote on her." To this the King says, "If I like thee no worse after
dinner, I will not part from thee yet."

These speeches follow neither from Lear's position, nor his relation to
Kent, but are put into the mouths of Lear and Kent, evidently because
the author regards them as witty and amusing.

Goneril's steward appears, and behaves rudely to Lear, for which Kent
knocks him down. The King, still not recognizing Kent, gives him money
for this and takes him into his service. After this appears the fool,
and thereupon begins a prolonged conversation between the fool and the
King, utterly unsuited to the position and serving no purpose. Thus, for
instance, the fool says, "Give me an egg and I'll give thee two crowns."
The King asks, "What crowns shall they be?"--"Why," says the fool,
"after I have cut the egg i' the middle, and eat up the meat, the two
crowns of the egg. When thou clovest thy crown i' the middle, and gavest
away both parts, thou borest thine ass on thy back o'er the dirt: thou
hadst little wit in thy bald crown when thou gavest thy golden one away.
If I speak like myself in this, let him be whipp'd that first finds it
so."